Lol, agreed, Mitch. And you’re welcome, Raider, glad they’re working out. Here’s to another positive day!
The way Kelly is pitching, the Dbacks game is worth a look. Contreras is decent and the Dbacks aren’t putting many runs up at the start of this road trip
2-1 yesterday, 104-85 season. PW went 1-1(58-44 season) while BP went 1-0(58-46 season).
www.pickswise.com/.../
Caleb Wilfinger
Minnesota Twins vs Los Angeles Angels: NRFI (-125)
Anytime that Shohei Ohtani is on the mound, it’s hard not to look at playing the NRFI. The 2-way superstar is having a terrific season, posting an xERA of 3.01 while sitting inside the top-10 percentile of all qualified pitchers in xBA, average exit velocity, strikeout rate and xSLG per Baseball Savant. Ohtani has started fast throughout the season and he should toss a scoreless first inning against a Twins offense that is 24th in team SLG and 17th in OPS this season. And while Pablo Lopez has struggled with consistency over the last month of the campaign, the right-hander has typically followed a poor outing with a great performance in his following start this season. Lopez surrendered 5 runs in his last outing, so I like him to bounce back early on Sunday.
.
.
Los Angeles Dodgers vs St Louis Cardinals: NRFI (-110)
We cashed in on the YRFI in this series on Saturday, and I’m going right back to the well in this market. This time, however, I’ll be targeting the NRFI and it’s mostly to do with Clayton Kershaw. The lefty continues to defy expectations in the twilight years of his career, as Kershaw has allowed just 15 earned runs through 9 starts en route to an ERA of 2.52 on the season. It just so happens that Kershaw’s best outing of the season came against the Cardinals on April 29, when he tossed 7 innings of 2-hit ball in a Dodger victory. Assuming the veteran southpaw can stay hot against the Redbirds, it’ll be up to Jack Flaherty to get 3 outs for us. Outside of an outlier start in which he gave up 10 runs, Flaherty has been rock-solid at home this season, so I’ll back the veteran right-hander to start strong.
.
.
.
.
www.bettingpros.com/.../
Trenton Pruitt
Chicago Cubs vs. Philadelphia Phillies
The Cubs and Phillies are set for a rubber match in the City of Brotherly Love this afternoon. Neither game has been close as Chicago pummeled Philadelphia 10-1 in the opener while the Fightin’ Phils bounced back with a 12-3 win yesterday. First pitch for the finale is set for 1:35 p.m. ET from Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA.
Taijuan Walker gets the nod for the Phillies as he gears up to make his 10th start of the season. The right-hander comes into this one at 3-2 with a 6.53 ERA and 1.50 WHIP over 41.1 innings pitched. However, he’s been slightly better at home, bringing those numbers down to 4.91 and 1.23, respectively. Walker will face a Cubs team that’s slashing .245/.310/.302 against him over 53 at-bats. Just three of their 13 hits have been for extra bases, all doubles. Most importantly, the big guns of Nico Hoerner, Dansby Swanson, and Ian Happ are a combined 3-18 (.167) against him.
As for Steele, he’s been sharp this year and enters with a 6-1 record, 2.44 ERA, and 1.03 WHIP. The current Philadelphia roster is 7-27 (.259) against him with two home runs and two doubles. However, they’ve struggled overall against left-handers this year as they’re just 23rd in both team batting average (.237) and OPS (.690). With Steele’s current form, I think he can keep a clean first frame.
Bet: No Runs First Inning (-110)
.
.
Seattle Mariners vs. Atlanta Braves
Seattle got back in the win column with a 7-3 victory over Atlanta last night, making today’s game a rubber match in Atlanta. The Mariners will turn to George Kirby while the Braves opt for Jared Shuster. This interleague showdown is slated for 1:35 p.m. ET from Truist Park in Atlanta, GA.
Shuster hasn’t found success over the first three starts of his Major League career. The southpaw is currently 0-2 with a 7.24 ERA and 1.90 WHIP over 13.2 innings pitched. But, he’ll have a favorable matchup against a Mariners team that has been horrendous against lefties this year. The M’s are just 28th in team batting average (.219) and 27th in OPS (.660) against LHP.
Kirby, on the other hand, comes into the finale at 5-2 with a 2.45 ERA and 1.01 WHIP. This right-hander continues to develop into a high-end arm. It’s simply the head-to-head numbers that make me comfortable backing Kirby against this vaunted Braves lineup. Ronald Acuna Jr., Matt Olson, and Austin Riley are a combined 0-8 (.000) against him. In fact, the team as a whole is just 5-23 (.217), and all five hits are singles from Sean Murphy (5-9, .556). NRFI is the play here.
Bet: No Runs First Inning (-105)